TWO candidates have declared their interest in the upcoming Bonchari constituency by-election. They are immediate former MP Oroo Oyioka of Kanu and Zebedeo Opore of Ford People. Word has it that Geoffrey Mogire, an official of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, might join the race. “This is a chance to clean up Bonchari politics once and for all or sink it further in the murk and mire that has been our bane since March 4 2013,” Mogire said last week. “Make a wise, informed and deliberate choice that will spur Bonchari forward and unleash empowerment opportunities upon our youth, women and...
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Oyioka and Opore set for battle
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5 Minute Interview: I was discharged from the army 5 days to pass-out
I'm good at.......speaking English, Kiswahili and my mother tongues. I'm very bad at.........entertaining nonsense. The most surprising thing that happened to me is........I was elected secretary general of our student union in 2000 but only served for six months before I was relinquished of my duty. A common misconception of me is............most people just understand me. One of my worst childhood fears was.......girls. In another life I would have been.......a politician. I like politics. In 2011 I contested for the seat of the director of the Kenya Sugar Board but lost. If I was a...
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KWFT officer in fraud charge
A Kenya Women Finance Trust bank credit analyst in Embu and a client were yesterday charged with defrauding the bank of Sh100,000. Eric Mutuma and Agnes Mukami Kithure appeared before senior principal magistrate Paul Biwott and denied the charges. The prosecution said the suspects conspired to defraud KWFT bank of the money, which they purported was a loan grant to Agnes Mukami by using a fake loan form. The prosecution said Mutuma and Kithure committed the offence on August 18 last year in Embu town. Biwott directed that the accused be supplied with copies of prosecution witnesses’...
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Two charged for trespass and stealing from ex -MP Githunguri
TWO flower vendors were yesterday charged with stealing flowers and trespassing into the home of former Kiambaa MP Stanley Githunguri. The court heard that David Kamau and Peter Kimani committed the offence on March 19 at the MP's Karen Miotoni Plot. The court heard that they allegedly stole flowers worth Sh1,800. They were charged with a second count of trespassing. Police the two entered Githunguri's residence in Karen without his authority. They denied the charges before Senior principal Magistrate Jacinta Kwena. They told the court they bought the flowers. Prosecutor chief inspector...
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Boda boda man killed in Awendo
Uriri The body of boda boda operator was yesterday found dumped in a sugarcane plantation at Koigo village. Area boda boda operators burnt down three houses belonging to the suspected killers including the person who last hired the deceased’s motorcycle. They burnt a house at Mariwa village in Awendo subdistrict and two more in Chamkombe. The operators blamed the police for laxity. Area police boss Daniel Mutie said the body was found by eight days since the man went missing.
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Magarini school dropouts 'guns for hire that target grey heads'
School dropouts have been accused of killing of elderly suspected witches in Magarini subcounty Kilifi deputy county commissioner Richard Karani said idle youths on motorcycles are hired to kill innocent people with grey or white hair. More than 150 elderly people have been killed in the past one and a half years. “Youths who drop out of school contribute to the killings of elderly people. They are hired to commit the inhuman acts," he said. Karani was speaking at Dagamura in Magarini yesterday. He told residents to make good use of the Nyumba Kumi initiative instead of misusing it to commit...
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Ngilu should let Land Commission work
Lands Secretary Charity Ngilu is fighting to claw back powers accorded by the constitution to the National Lands Commission. The CS has been in the media telling off the commission for "overstepping its mandate" and even urging ministry staff not to cooperate with the commission. This amounts to sabotaging the functions of a national independent institution established to handle the thorny land issue that has been at the centre of disagreements and clashes for years. The Law Society of Kenya yesterday advised the commission to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court on the powers of the Cabinet...
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Mutua launches Sh650 million road project in Machakos county
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has launched the tarmacking of the 33km Makutano-Kithimani road.The Sh650 million project has been awarded to 11 contractors who will do 3km each in a bid to speed up the construction and save money. "Using a single contractor could have cost us Sh1.3 billion and taken three years. The contractors will take three months only," Mutua said. He said dividing the road into smaller sections means better supervision and efficiency and less chances of corruption. Mutua said the contractors will work day and night as is done in countries such as the United Arab Emirates...
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Man fined for trespassing
AN Embu court yesterday fined a man who trespassed into his brothers’ land Sh3,000 or serve 45 days in jail. Embu senior principal magistrate Paul Biwott directed David Njogu to pay the fine or serve the 45 days term at the Embu GK prison after convicting him with the offence. Biwott found Njogu guilty of trespassing into the land of his brother Philip Njeru on August 20 last year at Muchonoke Village, Itabua sublocation in Embu North district. Biwott gave Njogu 14 days to appeal against the sentence if he is not satisfied. Njogu could not immediately raise the fine before police escorted him...
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Enforce anti-graft laws, Matemu tells counties
THE Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has urged county governments to start committees that would enforce anti-graft laws. The commission wants counties to enact integrity and anti-corruption legislation to supplement national laws. A report on corruption and ethics in counties by EACC revealed that the counties are struggling with corruption. This has prompted the need to move to the counties in a bid to combat and prevent corruption and economic crimes. The commission has embarked on a country-wide tour to train counties on how to develop governance instruments and corruption prevention...
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Polio rises as Kajiado mums deliver at home
About 70 per cent of women in Kajiado county give birth at home, a trend local medics have associated with increased number of polio cases. County health director Dr Philip Ngere said immunisation of children immediately after birth is compulsory. He was speaking during the official opening of Kitengela Subcounty Hospital on Wednesday. Ngere cautioned parents against traditional methods of attending to women in labour. He said the government has built health centres in all the locations in Kajiado county which are equipped to take care of all health issues. Kitengela Sub-County hospital,...
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Victims Of Violence Still Hope For Justice
Eight survivors of sexual violence during the post-election violence and four Kenyan civil society organizations have brought a constitutional complaint against the attorney general and five other senior government officials. The petitioners have asked the court to compel the government to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators and to provide redress for the crimes. The case is going to be heard on Tuesday 25th March before Justice Isaac Lenaola. When widespread violence erupted for two months following disputed December 2007 elections, it was no surprise that women and men on all sides...
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Mombasa MCAs want National Assembly out
THE Members of County Assembly are planning to start a retaliation campaign to do away with the national assembly for contributing to the ballooning wage bill. Mombasa County Speaker Thaddeus Rwajayi said he is starting a campaign with all the county assembly speakers to rally all the 2100 MCAs countrywide to call for a referendum to change the constitution or recall all the MPs to elect new ones. Speaking to the Star in Mombasa yesterday, Rwajayi said county speakers will meet with their MCAs to intensify the call to collect signatures from citizens to call for a referendum However, the only...
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Elephant corridor for Nyeri
POLICE in Nyeri town have arrested four suspected conmen who have been duping people in Nyeri town. The two women and two men were arrested in Nyeri town yesterday at the Equity Bank branch trying to defraud a 100-year-old man of Sh45,000. They had travelled from Thika in Kiambu County in a personal car for the foiled mission. Twelve mobile phones were recovered from them after their vehicle was searched. They had traced the old man Joseph Kairu who had just deposited some of the money but later approached him outside the bank . They convinced him to withdraw the money as they would pray for...
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Spotted
Former Nakuru MP and current National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) chairman Lee Kinyanjui having a coffee at the Java Coffee House in Sarit Centre, Westlands Nairobi on Thursday morning.
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MP wants technical college for Saboti
Saboti MP David Wekesa has faulted Trans Nzoia Education executive for excluding his constituency in establishment of new colleges. Wekesa said Isaac Kogo has left out Saboti when he said the Chinese government will put up technical colleges in four constituencies in the county. The colleges will be put up in Cherangany, Endebess, Kiminini and Kwanza. Kogo said Saboti already has Kitale Technical Training Institute. “The Education executive is so discriminative and is acting against the constitution. He should recommend the inclusion of Saboti in the programme,” Wekesa said. He said if Kitale...
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Child labour? Not really. It’s good values!
I’ve often been told I’m a slave driver where my kids are concerned. I’ve even been called Hitler Mum by people who think I overwork my kids with chores at home. I don’t get offended at all. I taught my children the importance of pulling their weight and helping around the house when they were younger. Today they’re older and a lot more independent than their agemates. The first thing they do when they get up is say their prayers, make the bed, go for a shower and get ready for school and wipe down the bathroom once they’re done with it. They even sort their own breakfast out and pack their...
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20 schoolgirls sent home for 'kissing' boys
More than 20 girls from a secondary school in Murang’a county have been suspended for allegedly dancing and kissing their colleagues from a visiting school. The students of Ruchu Girls High School in Kandara district were suspended for two weeks on Tuesday by their principal following the weekend incident. Yesterday, the Star learnt that during the function attended by several other schools, loud music was played in the hall. The girls are said to have joined their colleagues for dancing. Some of the parents accused the school management of allowing loud music to be played in the school. “...
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Counties Must Plan For Water, Energy
Tomorrow is World Water Day. The theme is energy and water. Water and energy are closely intertwined. Water is required to produce nearly all forms of energy. It is commonplace knowledge that we rely heavily on water for generation of electricity. However, apart from water institutions, the rest of us rarely ever spare much thought for energy for generation of water. Energy is needed at all levels of water extraction, treatment and distribution. It is estimated thatabout 8% of the global energy generation is used for pumping, treating and transporting water to various consumers. Water is a...
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Ruling Through Fear Down Kenya's History
President Kenyatta’s well-cultivated myth of the unquestioned “father of the Nation” was severely tested when on 25th January 1964 African soldiers at the Lanet Barracks mutinied over discrimination by their expatriates over salaries. The African members of the Kenya Rifle broke the armory in Lanet Barracks and demanded a forum with Kenyatta to discuss their grievances. To the Mutineers, Independence heralded a new era where the Africans will determine the African destiny. Further, Kenyatta’s personality as a freedom fighter, just like much of independent African leadership, was built around...
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